Several protests have been held on the 1st Anniversary of Corruption Probe within which four minister resigned. While the hashtag #hırsızvar (#thereisathief) became a top tweet, 5 demonstrators were detained in Istanbul.

Screenshot from video shown at the meeting and shared by MODE Istanbul

As noted in a recent Global Voices article, the Gezi protests in Turkey were born in large part out of a desire to reclaim the public sphere, and lay the foundations of a culture of progress through participation. Gezi remains a powerful symbol for people in Turkey who want to have a say in what goes on in their neighbourhood and urban environment.

Turkey has been in political limbo ever since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected president. This was the first time a president has been elected by popular vote, but Turkey is still a parliamentary system where executive power is in the hands of the prime minister and the Cabinet.

Two Turkish movies currently playing in theaters take the audience on a journey into recent history with their soundtracks. Available on iTunes and Spotify, the soundtracks offer a chance to glimpse the last three decades of Turkey’s pop culture